Page 6 of Tormented Hearts

His right hand is holding her wrists up above her head as his left hand moves over her breast, his touch intoxicating as he rubs her nipple. The traitorous bud pebbling in excitement, Phoenix gasps in pleasure, hating herself for the telltale. Her body is crying for more, and at the same time her brain is rebelling at the things Luca is making her feel.

He lowers his head, his mouth closing over one of her nipples, there is a gentle kiss before his teeth nip at her pebbled bud, the lightening burst of pain and pleasure that fires through her body is like a shot of adrenaline waking up her most lustful urges.

She wants to cry out in desire but refuses to give him the pleasure of knowing that he is awakening her body to his touch.A last attempt is made to pull her wrists free of his hold, but his strength is no match to hers. His fingers tighten, dissuading any further attempt.

He lifts his head from her breast to look deep into her eyes as his hand moves down to unzip his trousers freeing himself. There is a gleam of raw power in his eyes as he tempts her. Lowering her eyes, she gasps at his pulsing cock. Her heart is racing with fear, but there is also an excitement pulsing through her veins that is shouting for his possession.

She has only ever been with one man before, and that was only once, an experience she didn’t want to revisit as it was nothing like she had dreamed of. The sexual encounter had left her cold and frustrated, maybe because they were both virgins at the time, but it was enough to kill her childish dreams of passionate lovemaking.

Even though this was very different from anything she had ever thought passionate, the possessive, assured touch of Luca’s hands on her skin has her temperature at an all time high. Looking at the drop of gleaming precum on the tip of his impressive thick cock, my stomach flutters as my juices flow embarrassingly down my legs.

My eyes shoot back up to Luca and I see the gleam of victory in his eyes. Suddenly he is dropping my wrists as his arm snakes around my waist, and he turns me towards the wall. I gasp as my breasts flatten against the bricks, and then all thoughts rush out of my head as he plunges deep into my scorching depths.

I hear him groan, “fuck, you’re so tight” as he stills fully embedded. There is a feeling of such fullness, and a slight burn where he stretches my inner muscles. His strong arms flexing as he holds me, his body vibrating with raw passion. He starts to withdraw, and I unconsciously tighten around himwhich has him growling as he roughly plunges deeply again, the initial slowness is forgotten as he starts to ride me like a man possessed.

I would never have thought that his roughness would have excited me, but the way my body is blossoming, opening up to his thrusts has me gasping as every nerve in my body is revelling at this new sensation of deep excitement.

Until the feeling of standing on an edge is rising, and with one more deep thrust the world is shattering around me as the blood rushes through my body like an erupting volcano.

I hear as if from a distance Luca’s groan, as my insides are coated with his very essence. I realize at that moment that my legs have lost all strength, and if it wasn’t for Luca’s strong arm around my waist I would be sprawled on the floor.

My brain is telling me that I should be rebelling at the way Luca has taken over my body, my mind, but instead I am letting him pick me up and carry me to his bedroom. The will to fight has been extinguished, his strength, his possessiveness palpable. He has won, at least for now.

PHOENIX 4

The nights in the penthouse grew longer as Luca’s obsession with Phoenix deepened. He wasn’t gentle with her—not at first. His kisses were bruising, his touch possessive, almost punishing. But even in his roughness, there was something more—a desperation that Luca didn’t understand.

He didn’t just want to own her—he wanted to keep her safe, protect her from the world, from anyone who might try to hurt her. He had never felt this way about a woman before, and it unsettled him.

Phoenix fought him at first. She tried to resist the pull he had over her, tried to maintain her independence, her sense of self. But Luca’s dominance was overwhelming. Every time he touched her, every time his eyes locked onto hers with that dangerous intensity, she felt herself falling deeper into the abyss.

One night, after a particularly heated argument, Luca finally let his guard down.

“Do you know why I keep you here?” he asks, his voice rough with emotion he rarely allows himself to feel.

Phoenix glares at him from across the room, her heart still racing from their fight. “Because you’re a control freak who thinks he can own people.”

Luca’s jaw clenches, his dark eyes flashing with something close to pain. “Because I’m obsessed with you,” he says, so quietly she almost doesn’t hear him.

Phoenix froze, her breath catching in her throat. She had never heard Luca speak like that before—so vulnerable, so raw.

“You get to me, you make me vulnerable” he continues, turning away from her, his gaze fixed on the city lights beyond the window.

There it was—the crack in the armour, the glimpse of the man behind the monster.

Phoenix didn’t know what to say. She had spent so much time fighting him, hating him for what he had done to her, that she hadn’t considered the possibility that Luca Tempo might be just as trapped as she was.

Trapped by his life. By his power. By the darkness inside him.

That night was a turning point in their precarious relationship.

Luca’s penthouse, a haze of luxurious isolation that both comforted and suffocated Phoenix. She had never lived in such opulence before, but it was a gilded cage, one she could never forget. Every time she tried to distance herself from the situation—convince herself she was only here because Luca had taken her against her will—something happened that made her question everything.

Luca’s presence was overwhelming. He didn’t hover over her constantly, but he was always there—just a door away, a glance across the room, a touch on her shoulder that sent shivers down her spine. His touch wasn’t just possessive; it was protective, as though keeping her close meant keeping her safe. But the question was—from what? Or from whom?

Phoenix’s heart battled her mind every time Luca was near. It was undeniable that something inside her had shifted since the first night he took her. She had expected to hate him. She had expected fear, anger, and maybe even disgust at the man who had claimed her so forcefully. But instead, there was a pull—an unspoken, undeniable connection that scared her more than anything.

Turning Phoenix moves to sit by the window, staring out at the Palermo skyline. The sun was setting, casting the city in hues of orange and gold. It was beautiful, but it felt so far away. She had no one in this city, no one in this world really. Her life had been one long journey of survival since her parents had died when she was a child. The foster system had been brutal, teaching her not to trust anyone. She had always been alone—until Luca.